1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a backlight device, in which a reflector that reflects light from light sources is installed on a chassis by lamp clips, a lamp clip and a chassis for backlight.
2. Description of Related Art
In a liquid crystal display device, a backlight device has been used in which fluorescent tubes are supported on a reflector. Since the length of the fluorescent tubes becomes larger with an increase in screen size of the liquid crystal display device and the diameter of the fluorescent tubes decreases with reduction in thickness of the device, lamp clips have been installed on the reflector to support the fluorescent tubes (see Patent Reference 1, for example).
FIG. 8 shows views showing an example of the lamp clip: FIG. 8(a) is a top view of the lamp clip; FIG. 8(b) is a side view thereof; and FIG. 8(c) is a schematic side view at the time of installation. A lamp clip 1 is provided with U-shaped supporting tools 14, each catching and supporting a fluorescent tube 34 from its both sides, on both short-side sides of a top surface of a rectangular-shaped base body 12, and provided with an upper projection 20 that supports at the central portion of the top surface of the base body 12 a diffusion plate 38 under a liquid crystal panel 40. Further, at the central portion of an under surface of the base body 12, a columnar-shaped lower projection 4, with its end formed in a turned-back shape, is provided.
The lower projection 4 of the lamp clip 1 is inserted into circular through hole 3a provided in a reflector 3, a circuit board 6a and a chassis 6, and is pushed until the turned-back portion of the end thereof passes through the chassis 6, whereby it is possible to integrally hold the reflector 3, the circuit board 6a and the chassis 6 by the lamp clip 1, and install the lamp clip 1 on the reflector 3. It is to be noted that the number of the lamp clips 1 increases in proportion to the number of fluorescent tubes.
With the end of the lower projection 4 of the lamp clip 1 formed in the turned-back shape, the lamp clip 1 is configured so as to be easily installed and reliably fixed to the extent that a detachment of the lamp clip 1 is difficult. However, in the case of detaching the lamp clip 1 for repairing the reflector 3, the circuit board 6a or the chassis 6, there is a problem in that a repairing or recycling operation takes labor and time due to the difficulty in detachment of the lamp clip 1, thus preventing efficient repair. Especially when the size of the liquid crystal panel is large, the number of the lamp clips is also large, to increase labor and time taken for the repair.
In order to resolve such inconvenience, the applicant filed Patent Reference 2 prior to the present application, and in Patent Reference 2, as shown in FIG. 9(a), it is configured that gourd-shaped fitting holes 32, each formed by communication through a constriction between an insertion hole 32a into which the lower projection 4 (in FIG. 8) of the lamp clip is inserted and a holding hole 32b into which the lower projection 4 are engaged for holding the lamp clip, are provided in the reflector and the like, and as shown in FIGS. 9(b) and 9(c), the lamp clip can be installed by sliding, and removed and exchanged from the light source arrangement side.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent No. 3653272
[Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-276717